The world is a weird place. It’s not something we always appreciate as we go about our day-to-day lives, but every so often you learn something about this planet of ours, suspended in a potentially infinite cosmos, that makes you stop and pause for thought.

70 years ago, on the 15th of August 1947 India became the country that we know and love today. Following the departure of the British after nearly 200 years of what is known as the ‘British Raj’ (or ‘British Rule’), India suffered a period of turmoil, with Pakistan off from India, but it has since risen to become one of the main superpowers of the modern world.

Over the past decade, the choice and variety for vegetarians wanting to eat out has boomed – it’s not just stuffed peppers and goats cheese tartlets anymore! But there are some destinations that seem heaven sent for those keeping to a meat-free diet, places where local delicacies cater more to a vegie palate than any other and where it may even be the meat eaters who are in the minority! So here are 5 of the expected and the unexpected when it comes to global vegetarian hotspots.

A firm handshake and a broad smile; his name was David (a member of Kerala’s Christian community who make up 20% of the population here), and with this and this alone, he welcomed me aboard his giant Chinese fishing net. Here a team of six lowered the netting over 250 times a day into the estuary below, which just a few short metres away transformed into the Arabian Sea.